Google Goggles question..

It's normal. Initially I thought it was cool but eventually got annoying so I turned the feature off

 

Depends on what it identified. And I probably don't want to know what it was.

 

In Goggles

 

Test it in the same room as haggis. That way no one will know if it is you or the haggis they are smelling.

 

Sure it's normal behaviour, but just the tiniest part of the capability.

Google used to (and still does) have vehicles driving around recording GPS location and "Street View", along with WiFi network identification/availability and signal strength, encryption standards, and who knows what else.

Then they had the brilliant idea that since so many people have pocket computers with cameras, GPS etc., why not just create an app called "Goggles" that lets everybody contribute their photos, GPS locations etc. to the worldwide database of information.

Now Google has an ever-growing source of information about you, your locations and interests at any given time, and who knows what else? Of course, Google would never share any of that information with third parties like the NSA, as they use the picture you submitted with the Goggles app for your own benefit of product identification.

 

USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

Since 1971, it has been illegal to import haggis into the US from the UK due to a ban on food containing sheep lung, which constitutes 10 to 15% of the traditional recipe

Haggis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Honestly? I don't think they're watching as closely as most people seem to think. At today's level of technology, their manpower and the sheer number of people they are monitoring, I'd just think they'll be just throwing the messages and transcripts at a computer which looks for word patterns and keywords. They're not actually reading your messages to your mistress so they can inform your wife if you have one. D#mn, do you realize that following somebody else's conversations is probably one of the most boring jobs in the world? Most people's lives aren't as dramatic as soaps.

Anyway, if they ARE watching as close as you think, they might as well help you in finding where you lost your stuff.

'Hello NSA? I seem to have lost my car keys.'
'Ok ma'am/sir, we'll have an agent check the surveillance videos.'

 

Installed goggles but so far it hasn't recognized anything I've shot. Very common items. App needs work. I'll try again in a few weeks.

 

It is for this reason (and a few others) that I've been reducing my dependence on Google lately. I knew before, but I have to admit I was fooling myself about how I felt about it until the recent scandal forced me to re-evaluate things. I've replaced Goggles with Barcode Scanner, which is a fraction of the size (extremely important on the Venture) as well as potentially not being quite as big-brothered up.

Google is heavily integrated at the deepest levels of our phones, having written our OS, so we can only hope that they're not logging and submitting at that level.

I don't know which I dislike more...the yucky idea of eating that stuff or the offensive idea of potentially unnecessary regulation. It is likely that the regulation is related to some manner of food safety issue since such organs are said to carry more and worse germs. If you slaughter it locally it will have the local germs to which people may be acclimated, and it will be fresher so they would have less time to incubate.

Agreed, and I even believe my behavior is generally more legal than that practiced by most people, but unnecessary surveillance and data logging still spells trouble for us all.

 

Regarding the NSA:
They don't give a rip what the average person is doing today. What they are doing, regarding the average person, is acquiring every bit of information they can. So, if tomorrow you blow something up or threaten the President, they can go back and build a case against you and find your accomplices. So, if you don't plan on doing anything in the future that the NSA cares about - don't worry today.

Regarding haggis:
I've had it. And it wasn't even the worst meal I've had. The worst was in Paris where I had the misfortune of telling local friends to "order me a dish that is very French and I can't get in America." They basically ordered me the French haggis...

Andouillette - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Isn't this thread about Google goggles?